A Warrior's Spirit
by Radentor
Summary: Six years have passed since the war ended, and two months since Aang and Katara were united in holy matrimony. Katara, however, has never been so unsure, as a mysterious note makes her believe Aang may be acting unfaithfully. Not all is as it seems in the beautiful city of Ba Sing Se, and with her marriage on the line, Katara must discover why peace seems to irk the Avatar.
1. The Advisor and the Human Polygraph

The year was 105 A.G., and the wife of the Avatar, Katara, was in an uproar. Her husband, the Avatar, had finally reached a point in his life where he could stay at home and live in peace and luxury with his wife, but something seemed to be incredibly wrong with the young Avatar. His movements were shady and his actions were undertook with the same stealth as a child with his hand in the cookie jar, but Katara was not blind, nor was she foolish, so the question as to what Aang's problem was fell upon her to figure out.

She stormed through the large home in the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. It had been set up so that Aang could fly out and inspect progress on Republic City, the place Aang and Zuko had been so intent upon making a reality for a few years now. The project was coming along nicely, but still, Aang's behavior of late was highly suspect to say the least and Katara, fearing for the young couple's marriage, was afraid of the possibilities. They had only been married for a few months, but the stress that ate at Katara day to day seemed to gnaw through her and tear at the core of her being.

"Stupid… secretive… no good…"

"Your mail, m'lady," a servant said, bowing and holding out the daily mail for Katara to inspect. It was the usual stuff, requests for help and official notices, but still, she helped her husband by sorting through it all. She thanked the servant, who bowed his way out of the large manor and Katara took a seat at her husband's desk, sorting through the large pile of messages, letters and scrolls he was sent on the daily.

"Let's see, nope… nope, nope, nope…"

Katara sorted through the letters in a hurry, as she was awaiting correspondence from one of her longtime friends, Toph Bei Fong, whom had been busy teaching metal bending to the few students with the will necessary to conquer the refined aspect of earthbending. Katara could not remember the exact wording of the scroll she has sent out two weeks prior, but she had been checking the mail avidly every day in hopes of receiving a response from the renowned metalbender.

"Yes," she whispered, finding a fancy envelope stamped with the golden seal of the Bei Fongs. She tore it open and found a well written letter, likely taken down by one of Toph's helpers, as she was blind and unable to write, much less read.

 _Dear Katara,_

 _I am sorry to hear about your concerns regarding Aang, but what the heck should I do about it?_

 _Actually, leave that part out, I'll try to be a little nicer, I guess. No, I don't need your help, just shut up and write what I say, isn't that what I pay you to do? I swear, good help is hard to find nowadays. Now, Katara, I won't say too much, cause I know my dolt of an assistant has loose lips and will talk nonstop, but I think we should meet and talk about your problem in person. Bring whatever it is you found to support your argument with you, and maybe we can set something up. Let me know as soon as you get this. Hope you're ok, I'll be leaving in about ten minutes, I just gotta send out the some notices to my lazy, no good- I mean, to my students and then I'll head to Ba Sing Se. Try not to kill Twinkletoes until I get there, I know he's an idiot, but he's so ridiculously crazy about you, it's hard to see him as an unfaithful guy. I'll see you in about a couple weeks or so, as I plan on taking it easy, we did so much traveling back then that I hate it nowadays, I don't think my legs will ever be free of the aches and soreness._

 _Love you, and if you see any of the other idiots around, tell them I love them too… then punch them for me. All the best,_

 _Toph Bei Fong_

 _Taken down by a very underpaid individual, who didn't attend four years of writing classes to be called names by a metalbending tomboy._

"Oh, Toph is _so_ gonna hear about this," Katara said with a little smile, thinking about all the names Toph's assistant would be called upon their employer's return.

'Toph will be here in about a month,' Katara thought to herself, thinking of everything that had happened, 'thank goodness.'

But a look at the envelope had it postmarked as the day after Katara had sent it, which meant Toph would be arriving any day now.

"Maybe it was just the assistant, or perhaps the mail was stalled," Katara said to herself as she read through the letter's contents again, smiling as she did. Somehow, the thought that Toph was coming made her feel better, it had been so long since she had last spoken with her friend and all the worrying about Aang had put her on edge. The damning evidence, coupled with Aang's sneaky behavior had made Katara more upset than she realized.

"Hey honey," said a cheerful voice, "anything special in the mail?"

"Lots of letters from people asking for help today," Katara said, slipping the note from Toph into her sleeve before standing and going over to the doorway, where her husband, Aang stood. He was fresh from his morning workout, and he smelled clean, though the strong scent of a hardworking man still clung to him. He smiled at Katara and hugged her close, kissing her softly as he walked with her to the desk to survey the pile of mail.

"Good haul today," Aang noted, "I'll have Quin go through it all for me, no doubt there are enough requests to keep me busy for days."

"Maybe you should take a break from all this work, I mean, you can't help everyone," Katara said, "and it's been so long since we've just sat together and talked and had some privacy, you know?"

"Well, I am the Avatar," Aang said slyly, "I'm a very important figure."

"Ok, Mister Ego, I see how it is," Katara teased.

"Well, if I didn't do my job, how could I expect anyone to respect me? I can't sit at home and do nothing, I'll get bored. I'll get handsy," Aang said seductively, rubbing his hands over Katara's shoulders and making her moan with pleasure as he massaged his wife.

"I don't have a problem with handsy," Katara managed, "but it would be nice if we could set aside some time for each other, you know? How about dinner tonight? I'll cook for you, whatever you want, sweetie."

"Aren't we a little old to be calling each other sweetie," Aang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If I can't call you sweetie, I can come up with some other names," Katara said evilly, "you may not like them though."

"Well, only one way to find out, hit me with one."

"How about Guy-Who-Spends-Too-Much-Time-Away-From-His-Wife? Or maybe Mister I'll-Get-To-It-Later?"

"Wow, harsh," Aang said, plunking down at his desk and letting his wife sidle into his lap.

"The truth hurts," Katara said, "maybe if you actually spent some time with me instead of being all Avatar this and Avatar that…"

"Well, the truth does hurt, and believe it or not…"

Aang looked from side to side as if about to spill a great secret, and for a moment, Katara thought he might be about to explain his recent actions, and why Katara usually ended up waking up alone in their bed, but instead he leaned in close, and breathed in her ear.

"I'm the Avatar, it's my job to be all 'Avatar this and Avatar that.'"

"Harsh," Katara said, standing from Aang's lap and smirking at her husband, crossing her arms.

"Anyway, dinner actually sounds like a great idea, sweetie, just remember…"

"No sea prunes, I know, I know," Katara said, waving a hand, "go do whatever you need to do, I think I'll train for a while and then go to the Jasmine Dragon. I haven't seen Iroh for a while."

"He might not be there," Aang said seriously.

"Why not," Katara asked.

"Didn't I tell you? He managed to get his chain expanded to the Fire Nation! I think he might be in the Fire Nation now, but he might be back here in Ba Sing Se, seeing as this is where his company started."

"Either way, I'll check in and see. I'll tell him you say hello if he's there."

"Thanks sweetie."

Katara left her husband's study and once more took up to pacing the large, mansion like home they lived in. As soon as she turned her back on her husband, the smile dripped from her face like melting wax and was replaced by a look of sadness. It seemed she was doomed to spend her days in this awful cycle. Sure, it was nice not having to work, and it was nice always having the best of the best, but something made her miss the old days, back when they were fugitives. Sure, the fighting wasn't the very safe, and the stress was unhealthy, but they always managed to have so much fun, and the fighting kept them all fit and in shape. Katara poked her stomach, noting how it was not quite as flat and muscled as it once was. Slowly but surely, she found herself turning into a housewife.

"I will not go quietly into the night," Katara seethed, packing up several things she would use to work out. Her mat, several weights and her special waterskin, which was a dual ended waterskin that was worn like a backpack and could hold large amounts of water, and could be accessed quickly and easily.

She set up in the large sauna room and locked the door behind her before she stripped down to her cloth wrappings and glanced at her physique. It was more feminine than it used to be, with a little extra padding about her thighs, hips and buttocks, but for the most part she still retained her fit appearance, though it had slightly slipped during the years of peace they had made.

"Time to get back into it, Katara," she told herself as she began to stretch. It was hard work, and within moments her muscles were sore and screaming for her to stop. After so many years of relaxation and comfort, it seemed she was no longer as fluid and water like as she once was. With a scowl, Katara fought to complete her usual stretching routine, and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't end up pulling any muscles too far.

'I guess I still got it,' Katara thought as she began to bend the water from her pouches, slipping from stance to stance slowly. As she felt the muscles become supple and her memory of the stances returned, she began to flow through them more naturally, until she was moving so fast her hands and legs were a blur. The water seemed to become one with Katara's will and body as she was transported to her golden days, when she was unmatched in her bending. The water spun around her in slices that would sever limbs from a body before Katara pulled back all the water and used it to perform a large downward splash that would easily knock an opponent to the ground and render them stunned for a few moments.

With an over the head flourish, she spun around again, using the water to lift several stones from the sauna's fire into the air. She then pierced each one against the wall with shards of sharpened ice, which begun to melt fast in the heat of the sauna. After half an hour of hard bending, Katara was slumped in the seat of the hot bath, her muscles shaking and her body sweating profusely as she stretched where she sat. After another quick glance downward she noticed a huge difference in the shape of her body. Within thirty short minutes, she had brought her bending muscles back to life. The muscles that had gone largely unused since they had won the war were now rock hard and bulged from her limbs as if she had stones in her arms and legs. Her stomach was now flat and toned, having been vigorously stretched and compressed during Katara's workout. Of course, these changes were only temporary if she did not keep up the ritual of working out, but she decided that it was time she returned to her roots, besides, a little sweat was good for the soul, and when Katara was bending, all of her problems seemed so insignificant to her. After a few minutes of rest, she stood once again and did some basic waterbending, but going slowly so as to emphasize the stretches of the limbs as she wove the water about her form like a true master.

After fifteen minutes of light bending, she finished with some stretches before she found the wash closet, cleaned off the grime of physical exertion and dressed herself in her nicest kimono, the very same one she wore when she had first kissed Aang. It wasn't her color, as she usually preferred the blue of her native clothing, but it was such a stark contrast to her usual outfits that she decided to where it whenever she left the house for important matters. After she had dressed, applied light make up and a small dab of her favorite perfume, Katara looked in the mirror to make sure the ensemble was complete. She smiled happily before she once more remembered Aang's curious behavior, and the note she had found in his clothes a couple weeks back.

'I sure hope Toph can help,' Katara thought, 'but when will she get here? I'll have to stay on lookout, as Aang shouldn't know I asked for her to come here, and if he finds out he'll start asking questions.'

A breath steadied Katara racing heart, and she fixed a smile upon her face before she went about the manor, preparing for the journey ahead of her. It was quite a walk to the Jasmine Dragon, and she had no intention of taking one of the trolleys as she decided to try and keep herself in the best shape possible, she wasn't getting any younger, anyway.

"I'm leaving, Joo Dee," Katara called as she gripped the doorknob, "keep the house locked down while I'm gone!"

"Will do, miss," Joo Dee said happily, ushering Katara out of the house and handing her a shawl to wear.

Katara stepped outside to find it was not overly cold, but slightly brisk all the same. Even so, the cold didn't bother her, she was used to it, and with each chill breeze that ruffled her Kimono, she thought more and more of the Southern Water Tribe, where she had grown up. It seemed like forever ago she had lived in the tiny village, tending to the children, taking care of the things that only she could as the tribe's most able young woman. Then the war had happened, and though some of the details were rather blurry, it all sounded so farfetched whenever the story was told: a gang of teenagers that banded together to train the Avatar and stop the Fire Lord from taking over the world. If she hadn't actually been there, she might have thought whoever was telling the story was pulling her leg.

'And to think I only met Aang by a sliver of a chance, basically an impossibility,' Katara thought with a smile. Being married to the Avatar, to Aang, had been a dream come true, and their wedding night was amazing, probably the greatest of her life, but now here she was, walking alone in the streets of an enormous city, wondering if her husband was seeing another woman. Katara, in her paranoia, had labelled just about every woman in the city, no, in the world, a threat to their marriage. Crazy? Sure, but after all Katara had been through, she knew better than to second guess her gut instincts. Turns out Sokka had a kernel of knowledge in him after all… For the who knew how many-eth time, Katara ticked off a list of possibilities regarding possible adulterers. Lists, she found, brought her some peace.

'Joo Dee,' Katara thought, not sparing anyone for the sake of thoroughness, 'Toph, Onji, Mai, Azula, Ty Lee…'

And so Katara thought and thought, until just about every woman Aang had ever come into contact with was accounted for, each woman as unlikely as the next. And Katara didn't even want to consider the fact that Aang may be attracted to men, even though she couldn't rule it out entirely. The list more than doubled, and many of the choices for that list were… deeply disturbing to say the least.

Katara felt a shiver flow down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold as she traversed the twisting, winding path that lead through the city and towards the Jasmine Dragon. Perhaps Iroh would be of help to Katara, his advice was always sound and his judgements were usually spot on. Yes, the Dragon of the West would hopefully provide Katara with a modicum of comfort during these trying times. An hour of walking was behind Katara, and she felt her legs begin to turn sore from her workout earlier. Even with all the stretching in the world, there was simply no way to account for the body's reaction to a good hard session of physical exertion. Clouds began to cover the sun, and a chill dreariness took over as Katara came within viewing distance of the world renowned tea shop. She pulled her shawl tighter about her and made her way through the wonderful, expansive garden before the tea shop, which was so serene and peaceful that for a moment, all of Katara's worries faded. She made a mental note to ask Iroh who decorated and landscaped the garden of his shop before she stepped inside and was assaulted by a wave of warmth, relaxing music, and the smell of baking pastries.

"Hello miss," said the young man at the counter, "what can I get for you?"

"I'd like a cup of Jasmine Tea, please. Also, is Iroh around?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, ma'am," the youth said, "I am sort of new here, so I'm not familiar with Lord Iroh's whereabouts."

"Oh, he's here alright," said a soothing voice as a large, older man stepped out from behind the counter of his shop with a large smile, "I thought I heard a familiar voice, it is good to see you, Master Katara."

Iroh, the proprietor of the Jasmine Dragon gave a bow to the young waterbender and she reciprocated it in turn.

"It's wonderful to see you, Iroh. I was hoping you and I could talk over a cup of tea, if you are not overly busy," Katara said formally.

"I would be honored," Iroh said, stripping off his apron and handing it to the young man at the register.

"Please check the mint rolls in about ten minutes, if they are golden brown on the top pull them out and set them aside. I will show you how to frost them properly later," Iroh said kindly to the young man.

Iroh came out from behind the counter of his shop and held out an arm for Katara to take. Together, the two of them seemed to regally stride toward the private part of the store, which was usually reserved for parties but was now roped off and barren. Iroh lifted the rope and bowed Katara under it before following and guiding her out to the balcony, which looked out over the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, the same place that Katara and her friends had celebrated after the end of the war. Katara took a seat at a table for two on the balcony and Iroh sat with her. For a moment, there was silence, and then Katara noticed the old man's eyes upon her as he smiled.

"What is it, Iroh," Katara asked.

"Well, you just seem so grown up, now," Iroh said. "I feel old just looking at you… forgive me for saying it, but I still think of you all as the children you were, and seeing you as an adult really brings this old man into perspective."

"I don't mean to make you feel old," Katara said with a smile, "I came to ask you for advice."

"Well, shoot," Iroh said, reclining so he could listen to Katara in comfort, "I'm listening, and feel free to speak plainly, you know I don't care for all of that well-mannered nonsense. Not amongst my friends."

"Thanks. Now, my problem is… delicate. Very, very sensitive, and I need to be sure I can trust you to keep it a secret until I can be sure of the problem's existence."

"Of course, Katara, I would never bandy about important information. And I can sense how important this is to you, your beautiful smile faded as soon as you began to think speak of it," Iroh commented with a laugh.

Katara smiled weakly, Iroh had no idea as to how difficult this was for her… or perhaps he did. He was always so upbeat and kind, even when he had suffered so much more than most people knew. Katara admired the old General's spirit for that.

"Well, it's about my marriage," Katara said, "I fear Aang may be… dissatisfied with my company. I think he may be seeing someone else."

"That is a very serious accusation," Iroh said, sitting up, his eyes wide, "do you have any proof?"

"I have a note," Katara said, leaning in towards Iroh and sliding a crumpled piece of paper along the table for him to look at.

Iroh read the note and with each line, his brow furrowed more and more.

"This is either some sort of code, or there is more going on than meets the eye," Iroh commented, holding the note up to the light.

"I see no signs of invisible inks," he sniffed the parchment, "nor do I smell any chemicals to suggest any sort of espionage."

The General was nothing if not thorough, and when he held a flame as close as he could to the paper, Katara almost snatched it away from him, fearing he might set it ablaze. He extinguished the flame with a shake of his hand and peered at the note again. Before sliding it back to Katara.

"No, there are absolutely no traces of any sort of concealment. I tried every trick in the book, which brings me back to the original theory, either it is in code, or there is more going on than meets the eye," Iroh whispered, shaking his head, "where did you find this note. Upon Aang's person?"

"In his pocket, when I cleared up his clothes," Katara said, waving a hand and feeling as though she could cry.

"Hmm. At this time, I cannot make any assumptions, as I know so little, but if I were to give you any advice, it would be this: talk this out with Aang, listen to his side of the story, and then follow up with an investigation. Remember, innocent until proven guilty. If you overreact now, things can only escalate. Peace can only be achieved for those who strive to bring it about, whereas if you were to wave the note in his face and condemn him for a crime you have little to no proof he committed, then he might mistake your intent to resolve the situation for hostility. It is a vicious cycle, tread lightly Katara."

"But I am just so unsure, I mean, I thought he loved me," Katara said, feeling her eyes well up with hot, salty tears. She blinked them away furiously, wishing that she could find a better way to resolve the issue.

"Do not cry, Katara," Iroh said, "I may not know Aang like you do, but I will tell you this much, I have spoken with him about his love for you, years ago. The emotions he felt then were not ones that fade easily, I am sure that Aang still cares for you very deeply. Besides, he was so innocent growing up in the air temples that I doubt he even knows what adultery is. He's a good lad at heart, take care you do not exaggerate and accuse him of something he did not do."

"Thank you Iroh," Katara said, taking the note back from the old man and smiling.

"It is no problem to help someone in need," Iroh said, "I am glad to be of assistance, Zuko often came to me with his troubles, and now that he has grown into a self-confident man, I feel somewhat lost."

"I'm sure Zuko still needs you," Katara said sympathetically.

"That's what he says," Iroh said quietly, "he tells me that I should remain in the Fire Nation with him and take my place as his advisor. Of course, he actually wanted me to be the Fire Lord after his father was dethroned, but I refused. Being in that place takes me back to darker days. And yet, I still feel as if something is amiss."

Iroh's eyes dulled as he stared off into eternity, wondering what it was that was beckoning him so.

"Are you alright," Katara queried, extending a hand to grasp the old man's arm.

He snapped back to that moment and smiled, his amber eyes focusing intently upon the waterbender before him.

"I am fine, just tired is all. I sense my time here is coming to an end. I am no spring chickengoose, after all."

"You're… you're dying?"

"Dying? Who said anything about dying? No, if I'm right, the spirits have something different planned for me, they tease me with glimpses of the future, but it is bad luck to speak of such things, so I will simply say that I am not long for _this_ world," Iroh said slyly, as if making a private joke.

Katara thanked Iroh for all of his help and shook his hand before standing, but before she could say goodbye, a commotion from within the tea shop was heard.

"I don't care if the old man is sick on his deathbed and crying tears of blood, I wanna see him now!"

"But-but"

The assistant from behind the counter shot through the door, dragged by his feet by some unseen force before he was dangled over the edge of the balcony. From within the confines of the tea shop came a light padding, and within seconds, a short, black haired girl appeared over the threshold of the doorway that led outside. She was dressed in an elegant green outfit that was baggy about the sleeves of the arms and the pants, with a large green and bronze belt around her waist. Her clothes were worn under an armor-like compilation of metal strips and her feet were bare. Her hair was done up in a large bun with a crescent shaped holder that was dotted with what appeared to be emeralds. Toph Bei Fong, the metalbending master, was dangling Iroh's assistant upside down over the edge of the balcony, his ankles bound with what looked like a solid bar of iron wrapped around them.

Toph held out a hand to hold the assistant where he was dangling before she stopped and looked to the side, where Iroh and Katara were standing.

"You guys want next or what," she grunted savagely, glaring in their direction with her opalescent eyes and holding out her other hand toward them, making several bars of metal shoot from her sleeve and levitate threateningly before Katara and Iroh.

"Even though I am sure it would do wonders on my incredibly sore back I must humbly decline," Iroh said with a smile.

"Yeah," Katara agreed, "what he said."

"Gramps," Toph asked, her eyes narrowing, "Sugar Queen?"

"Do you really need to call me that?"

"It is you," Toph said happily, withdrawing the metal from around the assistant's ankles with a flick of her wrist and letting him fall. Katara looked worried, but was pleasantly surprised to see he landed in a large, poofy bush with pink flower petals.

"It's so good to see you guys," Toph said, gripping both Iroh and Katara in grip that was as solid as the Earth itself.

"Likewise," Katara squeaked as Toph squeezed the air out of her lungs with one arm.

 **Hello all, this is a new fanfic I am writing, it is going to centralize around Aang, Katara, and their friends as they go about their lives after three years of peace. At the moment, Katara think's Aang may be seeing someone else, and a mysterious note seems to back that up, but with Toph's help, perhaps Katara can figure out the truth. Why has she been waking up by herself? Why is Aang never around? Something is going on, and she won't rest until she finds out what. In terms of age, I believe Aang is 18, Katara would be 21 and so on, but I'm not 100% sure on that.**

 **Also, a great big thank you to Aleccha of deviantart for allowing me to use this picture as the cover image for my story! She is exceptionally talented and you guys should definitely check out her work! I am extremely lucky to have been able to get in touch with her, and to get her to consent to letting me use her art as the cover for my story.**


	2. Following a Lead

"Oh my goodness, I can't believe it! I missed you guys so much!"

Toph didn't often deal with open displays of emotion, and found them to be signs of weakness that were better applied through physical force. Either way, her blatant happiness to see them slightly concerned Katara as she stepped back to get a better view of her friend. Her armor was polished and shiny, her clothes were relatively clean, yet she wore no pack, and no one seemed to be with her.

"Did you come on your own," Katara asked.

"Why," Toph asked, suddenly hostile, "cause I'm blind and can't take care of myself?"

"No- no of course-"

"I might have brought an assistant with me, but it was just to carry my bags," Toph admitted, kicking at the floor of the tea shop and hanging her head.

"Hahaha, you are as rowdy and obstinate as ever I see," Iroh said happily.

"It's good to see you too, Gramps," Toph said, socking Iroh in the gut and making him double over.

"Easy Toph," Katara said, "Iroh isn't getting any younger!"

"Geez, lighten up Katara, I haven't even been here for five minutes and your telling me what to do," Toph chortled, "besides, if anyone can take my tough love, it'd be the Dragon of the West!"

"I appreciate the compliment," Iroh said, rubbing his belly to loosen the muscles and ease the pain.

"So, I suppose it's not a coincidence we met here, I take it you were asking Iroh about the note," Toph asked, crossing her arms and gazing blindly at the floor.

"Yes, I came here to ask for his advice on the matter," Katara said quietly.

"Toph knows of this," Iroh asked in an undertone.

Katara nodded, and together the three of them took seats at the table, leaning in so they could speak in private.

"So, what's all this about," Toph asked, "and did you bring the evidence?"

"Yeah," Katara said, "I have it here."

Katara almost handed the note to Toph, but then realized that she couldn't have read it… it had been far too long for the both of them.

"Ok, I'll-uh-read it to you," Katara said, opening it and leaning in close to Toph while Iroh kept a lookout for eavesdroppers.

"It says 'Avatar, I look forward to our meeting tonight. As per usual, come alone, and don't wear anything nice, I plan on tearing you to pieces and I don't think your clothes will survive what I have in store for you! P.S. bring that stick of yours; you'll need all the help you can get!' It's signed 'Flameo Hotman!' I'm pretty sure it's a note from Aang's new lover."

Katara blanched. In her head it seemed so faded and unreal, but when she spoke it aloud it was as if she were giving the thought substance, making it concrete and real. Toph felt Katara's heartbeat flicker for a moment before it began to speed up and beat faster and faster. Toph could almost feel the rush of hormones flowing through Katara and she laid a hand upon her friends shivering fingers, giving them a gentle squeeze.

"Don't worry so much Katara, from what I heard, that note leaves far too many vague hints to properly be diagnosed at that of a mystery lover… it sounds more to me like a threat! Has Aang been fighting someone? Does he come home with weird bruises?"

"I don't know," Katara said, shrugging and crossing her arms, "I barely talk to him anymore, it's like he barely has enough time in the day for being an Avatar and a husband."

Toph frowned, thinking hard.

"I don't know Katara, but I know how we can determine the truth."

"How," Katara asked.

"Me," Toph said brightly, raising her hands and closing her eyes.

"What? Are you just gonna ask him if he's been cheating on me," Katara asked indignantly.

"Nope… I'll leave that to you," Toph said with an evil grin, "but I'll be close by to read him, don't worry. Do you have a closet or something I can hide in at your house? When are you next gonna see Aang?"

The cogs in Katara's head began to turn, and suddenly it all made sense to her. Iroh, however, looked unsure.

"Remember what I told you, Katara," he said as the girls stood to leave, "innocent until proven guilty! If he denies it and Toph finds him to be truthful, you'll want to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible before it escalates!"

Katara grabbed her shawl and pecked Iroh in the cheek before she followed Toph out of the restricted section and through the main tea shop. Toph stopped abruptly and turned to give the cashier her best evil glare with her frighteningly pale eyes before the assistant jumped in fright.

"Hehe, I've still got it," Toph said, strutting out of the tea shop with Katara in tow. There was a moment of silence as they walked through the garden, and then Katara spoke.

"So what have you been up to, Toph," Katara asked, "anything new? How are your students? I gotta say, you look great, and I've really missed you."

"Don't you go getting all mushy on me, Sugar Queen," Toph said, elbowing Katara in the ribs, but through the blow, Katara could see Toph blushing, and she knew that the blind earthbender felt the same.

"I've been good, my metalbending academy has really been picking up, though the students are a bunch of silly, idiotic… you know what, screw them, I'm on vacation," Toph said, kicking at the stone beneath her feet and causing a ripple to flow through the earth.

"You mean you've been teaching nonstop since I last saw you," Katara asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah," Toph said, "it's not like I have much else to do, and I'm actually a really good teacher. About sixty percent of my students pick it up within the first few days, the rest just take a little longer cause they're… not too bright."

"Are you sure you're not being too hard on them," Katara asked, leaning against the short blind girl next to her, "I remember when you trained Aang to earthbend, it took him a little bit."

"Are you kidding me," Toph said, "Aang was my biggest accomplishment, my record! Who else could've taught an airbender to earthbend within a matter of days!? No one, that's who!"

"Yeah, good point, I suppose teaching someone to go against everything they know is a tricky business."

"You would think so, but I swear, Aang was one of my best students. The ones I work with now complain when they can't sense the Earth within the metal! It's ridiculous, they're using ores, the stuff isn't even smelted and they're having difficulty," Toph proclaimed, "it's absolutely maddening to sit there and watch them putz with a lump of dirty metal for hours when I could've learned to bend platinum already!"

"You can bend platinum," Katara asked, her jaw agape.

"No, I was just making a point," Toph said, "platinum is so refined it's nigh impossible to bend… though if anyone were to do it, it'd be me!"

Toph thumped a fist against her chest, and suddenly she looked like she was in pain. Katara stopped walking and looked at her for a second.

"What's wrong," Katara said, "you look upset for some reason."

Toph breathed heavily for a moment, and then she cracked like a boulder being split down the middle.

"I CAN'T CHEST BUMP ANYMORE CAUSE I'VE GOT THESE DAMN BREASTS," Toph said angrily, "THEY ARE SO SORE NOWADAYS IT'S RIDICULOUS! I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU HANDLED THIS, KATARA!"

Katara blushed as everyone stopped to stare at Toph, who looked like she might just strip down and try to tear her mammaries off, she was so upset. Even so, Katara couldn't help but stifle a giggle.

'Oh Spirits,' Katara thought, 'Toph hit puberty!'

"It's not funny, dang it all," Toph said loudly, "it's so annoying!"

"Toph, take a breath, your hormones are going berserk," Katara said, "I'm gonna guess that you've been going from happy to sad to angry without warning for a while now?"

Toph looked up, and Katara was both sadden and amused to find tears in Toph's eyes.

"Uh huh," Toph said, wiping away the tears that fell from her dead gaze.

"Oh, sweetie," Katara said, "don't worry, I'll have someone bring some chocolate cake for us, ok? We can sit down and talk and drink some tea while we munch on some moist cake, how does that sound?"

"I want a whole jar of frosting on my cake," Toph said angrily, stomping in place, "and I want a whole bunch of honey in my tea! And I want…"

Katara seized Toph's hand, and began to gently guide her back towards her house, Toph blithering and hollering the entire way. Still, Katara dragged her onward until they had crossed the threshold of the great house and Toph finally quieted.

"Whew," Toph said, "all that shouting has worked up my appetite!"

"Ah, lady Toph!"

It was Joo Dee, who beamed at the both of them and gave them best impression of being a plastic doll. Toph, who hadn't seen her since she lead them back to their quarters years ago after a party at the palace, stiffened immediately and slowly turned to stare at the woman.

"Katara," Toph asked quietly, "why is Joo Dee here?"

"She's the house attendant," Katara said happily, "no need to be worried! After Long Feng was removed as the Head of the Dai Li, Azula reformed the organization and turned them into a military structure. All the others had their memories restored, but hers couldn't be fixed. She's staying with me and helping around the house while I try to find a way to help her. I've even asked Pakku to petition the Northern Water Tribe for me to ask if I can use the spirit water from the Oasis at the North Pole on her, to see if that helps."

"It is true," Joo Dee said sadly, "My memory is not my own, but I can begin to make reparations by living a semi normal life! I am very skilled with housework, and I can cook quite well!"

"She's telling the truth," Toph said, not looking quite so worried, "either that or she's just a really good liar."

"I'm not lying," Joo Dee said, "I have done my best to-wha-?"

Toph had marched up and place a hand to Joo Dee's face. Though Toph was short, she still managed, and Joo Dee didn't pull away. Toph closed her eyes and frowned with focus, and then she whispered to the former Dai Li agent.

"Say it again," Toph said.

"Everything Katara said was the truth," Joo Dee's muffled voice said, "I am truly trying to pull myself together, and I want my memories back!"

Toph tightened her grip upon Joo Dee's face, but not overly so, just enough to get a good feel of her veins as blood pulsed through her. Toph felt reverberations pass through the entirety of Joo Dee, and after a moment, Toph could feel everything, right down to the bone.

"She's… telling the truth," Toph said finally.

"Here's a question for you Joo Dee," Katara asked suddenly, stepping closer and remembering why she'd invited Toph there in the first place, "to your knowledge, has Aang ever been unfaithful too me? Has he ever been with another woman? Are there visitors that come to call for him while I'm away?"

Toph, who was about to let Joo Dee's face go, held firm as Katara asked her questions. Toph felt a medley of reactions from the servant in her clutches and she had the feeling Katara might not like Joo Dee's answer.

"There are many people that come here seeking help," Joo Dee said nervously, "Avatar Aang is an important man.

"Your face is getting sweaty," Toph noted in a deadly quiet voice, "and your heartbeat is racing… what are you hiding?"

"Nothing, I-"

"Liar," Toph sneered.

"I-I-"

"Tell me the truth, Joo Dee," Katara said, "there's no point in lying, I'll find out the truth sooner or later."

"There was a woman," Joo Dee said.

"Who," Toph demanded quickly.

"I do not know," Joo Dee answered, raising her hands in surrender, "all I know is that they gave me a note, they wore a hood. I know I shouldn't have done it but… I read the note! She was so mysterious, I decided to read it just in case! It detailed a secret meeting between Aang, and who I presumed to be the woman who gave me the note! Something about ruining his clothes and his stick, but I swear, that's all!"

"Aside from that last part, that was all the truth," Toph said, looking at her fingernails as Joo Dee shivered under Toph's other hand.

"The last part," Katara asked.

"The part where she said 'that's all,' she was lying about that, she knows more, ask another question," Toph said casually, as if she were doing something boring like peeling potatoes.

"Ok… um- what are you lying about," Katara asked, unsure of exactly what to ask about.

"Well, I followed the Avatar, I was concerned for his safety. Curious about… the two of you. There was an old abandoned warehouse, I've probably passed it thousands of times-"

"Get to the point," Toph said, "my arm is getting sore like this."

"The lights were on, I heard screams and shouts, sounds that shouldn't come from a warehouse-"

"And then," Katara asked.

"I tried to sneak in, but I was caught," Joo Dee said quickly, "I ran before the Avatar could get a good look at me, I was scared for my job and I didn't want to lose your trust, so I said nothing to either of you, and I am very sorry, Master Katara!"

"Aaaand, that was a whole bunch of truth," Toph said, pulling her arm from Joo Dee's face and stretching her hand before she let it hang at her side. Joo Dee bowed to Katara, who waved off the apology.

"It's fine, I understand! You know, I actually thought you might have been the one with whom Aang has been fraternizing," Katara said airily

Toph looked at Katara, expecting her to frown, but Katara kept her smile fixed in place. If Joo Dee's story had done anything, it had convinced her that this was adultery, plain pure and simple, Toph, however, seemed to think otherwise. She let Katara know by thumping her in the arm and scowling at the waterbender.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

"Innocent until proven guilty," Toph said, repeating Iroh's warning and crossing her arms, "besides, when are you the one to be all headstrong, that's my gig, sister!"

"Sorry, Toph, I just have a hard time seeing it any other way. All the evidence seems to point to-"

Katara broke off, feeling as if her chest might burst and release a wave of anxiety and fear. Toph, however, would probably weather any tidal wave Katara's feelings could throw at her. She stood there, resolute, and smiled at Katara reassuringly, and the waterbender knew that Toph was doing her best to keep her chin up.

"Katara, this just doesn't add up, you're just overthinking! Seriously! I'll prove it too you, Joo Dee, where's that warehouse you were talking about," Toph asked sharply, making the servant jump.

"It's nestled up against the inside of the middle ring, next to the cobbler and the smith! It's huge, you can't miss it. And the door the Avatar used to gain entrance was an old metal sliding door," Joo Dee said quickly.

"I believe that's my specialty," Toph said, turning and throwing the door open before marching through it.

"C'mon Katara," Toph said, "let's go dig up some evidence!"

Again, Katara allowed the short blind girl to lead the way as they wove through the streets of Ba Sing Se. They slowly worked their way past several government officials' houses until they reached the wall separating the upper and middle rings. Since the retaking of the city and the restoration of the Earth King, the Avatar had lobbied unrelentingly for free passage between the rings of the city, saying that it was these kinds of divides that helped spread mistruths and misconceptions. After the citizens of the lower and middle rings rose is support of the Avatar, King Kuei had decided to allow large sections of the walls to be dropped, forming an enormous opening through which everyone could come and go as they pleased, essentially removing all traces of what the Dai Li had called 'order'. The citizens of the upper ring had been furious, but their anger abated when prices dropped on a wide variety of goods from the middle and lower rings due to ease of access, and the naysayers were silenced. Once again, Avatar Aang had come through and brought people together in ways they didn't even bother to consider.

"The city feels different now," Toph said to Katara as they worked their way through the bustling crowd that was passing between the walls, "it feels more… at peace. And it sounds so lively."

"Well, you have to remember, we're at peace now," Katara said, "before these people were refugees who had lost everything to the Fire Nation. Some of them left to rebuild their homes, but others stayed and plied their crafts here, resulting in an economic boom for the city, and a huge increase in the standard of living."

"Wow, aren't you little miss know it all," Toph said with a smirk as she strong armed her way through the crowd.

"I've picked up on a few of the meetings I attended with Aang. And then I actually made a presentation to the Earth King about the walls needing to be taken down. Since then I've worked as an advisor for the King. His Generals are great and all, but they're all so old, their idea can get a little-erm- stagnant," Katara said, phrasing it as simply as possible for Toph.

The short metalbending master spat upon the ground and continued to walk.

"Sounds like a bunch of political nonsense to me," Toph said, "not sure I could stomach it."

"Yeah, you'd break their fancy table in half and throw it at whoever disagreed with you," Katara said, trying not to laugh as the vision became more and more surreal behind her blue eyes.

"True enough, but if I had my way, I'd run things a little differently."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, I'd probably make it a bit more militarized. I'd contribute resources to the eradication of crime and I would form an elite group to fight criminals," Toph said thoughtfully as they worked their way down the main stretch of road that led to the lower ring, which sat crouched upon the horizon.

"But you are a criminal, in the Fire Nation anyway," Katara said, "I've heard some of the reports, people are using your image to create some sort of trickster spirit. You have no idea how many times Zuko has sent memos asking if you had gone to the Fire Nation recently."

"You didn't tell him about my little stint as a con artist, did you," Toph asked warningly.

"Of course not," Katara said, placating the glaring earthbender, "I did tell him that some hoodlums probably got a hold of your old wanted poster from when we were fugitives in the Fire Nation and that they were simply using your image as a façade to get away with crimes."

"A good cover story," Toph muttered, picking a spot on her chin, "do you think he bought it?"

"I think he had no other choice, how else would he explain it, aside from learning the truth," Katara answered with a shrug.

"How is he, by the way? I haven't heard much from him aside from his marriage and newborn daughter," Toph said casually.

"Well, I don't know, I haven't seen him much myself, but from what Iroh told me, he's under a lot of pressure to perform. I guess being the Fire Lord is getting to him," Katara said sadly.

"I don't know about that," Toph said, "think about it, the guy has wanted to take the throne since before you ever knew him… I'd say something else is going on. How's his mom?"

"Not sure," Katara said, "he sort of hid her away from the world after he got her back. I think he was scared to lose her again."

"Can't say I understand that," Toph said, stretching her arms over her head, "but then again, my mom and I have never seen eye to eye."

"I can sympathize," Katara said quietly, "if I got my mom back, I don't think I'd ever let her out of my sight again."

"Good point," Toph said, coming to a stop as they reached the opening in the wall between the middle and lower districts. It was a large street, much less packed that the one between the upper and middle rings. The ring of steel on steel could be heard, and when they looked about, they saw a large, muscled man hard at work next to a glowing forge as he hammered a cherry red piece of glowing metal.

"There's the smith," Toph said with a frown.

"Cobbler's there," Katara said, pointing to the building on the other side of a large, dark warehouse with high windows, a few of which were open. The building must have been the warehouse Joo Dee spoke of, and it looked like it might have been upon the verge of collapse. The flat metal roof was pocked with rust and holes and its windows were dead and lifeless. Katara and Toph nonchalantly made their way over to the door of the warehouse, which was located on the side, in an alleyway between the cobbler's building and the warehouse itself. The alley was bare, save a few smatterings of litter, but other than that there were no signs of life.

'A few years ago, this alley would've been filled with criminals and lowlives looking to mug any wealthy passersby," Katara thought to herself as she turned to keep lookout for Toph, who was cracking her knuckles in preparation of busting down the door.

"Hold up a second, Toph," Katara said suddenly.

"What, why?"

"Because," Katara said, reaching for the handle, "it's hanging open, it's not even locked."

"Oh," Toph said sadly.

She had been looking forward to unwinding upon the thick metal door, but Toph hung her head and followed Katara into the warehouse. The inside, it seemed, was in a very different state that the outside. For all intents and purposes, it very well might have been livable. The few holes in the roof had buckets, troughs and other random objects under them to catch water, and the inside was well insulated. As it turned out, several of the windows had been covered with sheets, tarps and other screens to keep out prying eyes, and in the center of the warehouse was a very strange design upon the floor, a section of which was raised like a plateau. There was a pattern to it, of that Katara had no doubt, but unless she viewed it from above, it would likely escape her. Still, a shiver ran along her spine and she felt like she was missing something incredibly important. Toph walked right onto the raised platform and felt the vibrations with each step she took.

"Hey," she said to Katara, "this is filled with earth discs…"

"What," Katara asked.

In answer, Toph stomped hard upon the platform, and upon either side of her, two large stacks of perfect earthen discs rose from holes in the floor and set themselves down upon either side of the earthbender with a gentle boom. Each stack stood about eight feet tall, and the discs were still perfect, and apparently brand new.

"These are the kind of things you would see in an underground earthbending arena," Toph said, "I know cause I've seen them in a lot of places."

"And why exactly do you go to these places," Katara asked, crossing her arms and smirking, "taking up the Blind Bandit again, are we?"

"No, I go there to scout for new blood," Toph said, "when someone is fighting, I can always sense whether or not they have what it takes to be a metalbender. I frequent places like this in hopes of getting people off the street and I teach them rare skills that'll be useful in a variety of job environments. I'm an economic mastermind myself, Sugar Queen!"

"Melon Lord," Katara said quickly.

"Did you just insult my-"

"Yup," Katara said.

"That was low," Toph said, shaking her head in defeat.

"Be quiet," Katara said suddenly. She was sure she'd misheard, but from within the depths, she could've sworn she heard sloshing. The funny thing was, it didn't come from any of the buckets or troughs, it seemed to be coming from under feet.

"Toph, are there sewer lines coming through here," Katara asked.

"Let me see…"

Toph closed her eyes, and for a moment she withdrew from herself to search the ground beneath her. Her eyes opened once more and she frowned.

"I don't think it's a sewer," she said, "but there are pipes, and liquid is going through them. If I had to guess I'd say this place was a factory at some point, cause there are water mains all over. They all seem to all pool right here under this platform though."

Katara took a step up and stood next to Toph, staring at the floor. The platform upon which they now stood was pocked with holes, each filled with long, heavy rows of earth discs. Grates also ran along the platform at regular intervals, and within the grates, Katara could practically sense the water from within them. Sure enough, when she peaked down into one of the grates the sparkling sheen of dark water caught her eye. Katara was stunned for a moment as she looked around the platform.

"What is this," Katara asked.

"I don't know," Toph said, "I've never seen anything quite like it."

Something else seemed to bother Katara, and after a moment, she noticed that the platform was not dusty, like everything else in the room. There were bits and pieces of broken earth discs, swept quickly into the dark corners of the warehouse, and a thick layer of dust lay upon almost every surface… except for the platform, which was clean, shiny and polished. Even so, it was marked here and there with scuffs, scrapes, and, much to Katara's bewilderment, burns. Every now and again, scorch marks seemed to crinkle and crack the neat polish that someone had obviously worked quite hard to keep up.

"Katara, I'm pretty sure that Twinkle Toes isn't cheating on you," Toph said, "this is an arena."

"You sure," Katara asked assuredly, "I've heard of some people that are into some pretty freaky-"

"Lalalalalala," Toph said loudly, shoving her fingers into her ears and ignoring Katara's statement.

"Listen, I told you I've seen lots of different arenas, right? This one is a bit different, but with the water, I'd say there was a group of people here using this. Maybe Aang was betting on the fights. Does he have money problems?"

"No, he's the Avatar," Katara said, "he doesn't need money, people always give him stuff. No, he would be fighting in the arena, but why?"

"You can ask him that when you see him next," Toph said, "we should get back to-"

Toph was interrupted by the sound of screeching metal, and the door they had come through slid open to reveal a dark figure standing in the doorway. They appeared to have a bag over their shoulder and they wore a heavy cloak that obscured their features. They looked at Katara and Toph for a few moments, while the girls stared back, and without warning, the figure turned and dashed away.

"Hey," Katara shouted, "come back here!"

She took off in pursuit of the cloaked figure, and Toph followed as fast as she could, sliding along on the earth as if she were wearing skates.

 **Hello Arrowheads, Avatards, Melon Lords, Benders and Non-benders alike, and welcome to this fanfic. I hope you enjoyed it thus far, and I apologize for the wait, what with work, taxes and a variety of other crap, I find my writing has begun to slow, but you guys don't want to hear about that, do you? No, you want to hear about Aang, Katara, Toph and whoever else will be in the story! So, this chapter shows us that Aang has likely not bee committing adultery! Yay for Master Arrowhead! We also learn that Joo Dee actually got some character development! It only took three years! Toph is a badass and I think her dealing with puberty is satirical genius, but that's just me. What will happen next I wonder, and can anybody figure out what the arena has to do with this? If so, keep it to yourself! I know it's pretty apparent, but I'm no mystery novelist, cut me some slack!**

 **As for music, I listened to this, even though it's a pretty sad song, I find the beat is so... uplifting, and I can so imagine this being the Gaang's theme song!**

 **watch?v=dYRqIAuY9IQ**


	3. The Set-Up

"They're headed for the inner ring," Katara shouted as she chased the person in question.

The figure's features were obscured by a tattered black cloak that fell about their waist, but from the looks of it, their underclothes were rather shabby as well. All of this and more met Katara's sharp blue gaze as she took a leaf out of Toph's book and pulled water from the dual water skin upon her back, sliding along the ice as it froze beneath her feet. Toph, who was stubborn and headstrong, much like the Earth she bent, crashed through the wagon of a rather unfortunate vendor of cabbage, causing the older, tanned gentleman in attendance of the cart to shout hysterically and stomp upon the ground furiously.

"Sorry," Katara said as she bent an arch of ice clear over the ruins of the cabbage merchant's produce.

But she had no time for the cries and shouts of the man behind her, she needed to catch the person she was chasing and wrest their knowledge of that arena from them. A flicker of movement caught her eyes and she followed Toph into a crowded square in middle ring of the city, which looked like a cute destination for couples, families and the like. That said, Katara, who usually loved to picture herself and Aang as proud parents when surrounded by families, was now rather upset, herself. The crowd meant that she could no longer go all out with her bending, and on top of that, the culprit had gotten away from them. Katara came to a landing beside a fountain that gurgled gently in the sunlight before she made a disgusted noise in her throat and tossed the water she'd been bending into the fountain, ready to give up.

A stony crunching and grinding announced Toph's presence as the short, angry girl hopped down from the boulder she'd been forcing along the ground through sheer force of will.

"Dammit, where'd he go? I can't see with all these people," she said angrily.

"Just forget about it, Toph," Katara said wearily, "let's just go home."

"No! We're gonna find this guy and get some answers outta him," the blind woman said before she stomped upon the ground and raised a hand.

The ground beneath her shot upward, and after a moment she stood an entire body above the crowded square.

"Attention everyone! Attention!"

The babble continued. Toph, in her fury, scowled angrily for a moment before she lashed out like a cobra.

"Shut UP!"

Her words echoed throughout the square as the babble slowly faded and died. Katara watched as everyone looked at her friend with an odd combination of fear and concern. A small smile pulled at Toph's mouth before she spun in a circle, dropped to one knee, and drove her hands into the pillar below her. Nothing visible happened, but Toph's 'vision' was now clearer than it had ever been. The vibrations ran across the crowd with speed few others knew. She ruled out anyone with abnormally slow heartbeats, they were obviously not doing any physical activity, let alone hiding from pursuers. She narrowed her search, bit by bit, person by person, until only one individual stuck out.

"Katara!"

With a single finger, Toph pointed, and the waterbender followed her outstretched limb with her eyes, fearing she might miss what Toph had seen. She looked above the heads of those closest to her and she saw the roof of a building, upon which crouched the person they'd been chasing. They jolted, taking off so suddenly and moving so fast that Katara had trouble keeping up as she moved through the crushing press of bodies.

"Stop, whoever you are, we just wanna ask some questions!"

The figure looked back as they ran, and with a quick slash of their hand, bright flames blinded and distracted Katara, halting her in her tracks. Toph, on the other hand, was not phased. She stomped upon the pillar and it shrank back into the earth before shooting back up again, albeit diagonally. She flew through the air so fast her cheeks jiggled slightly, and she shot through the flames, landing upon the roof and continuing the chase.

The culprit moved like an acrobat, and was surprisingly limber for a fighter of an arena. They leapt from rooftop to rooftop with ease and swung from the branches of several trees as they made their way closer to the upper ring.

"This guy's a firebender," Katara said, looking slightly sooty, but unharmed nonetheless.

"A better mystery to solve would be why they're running towards the upper ring, it's full of guards," Toph replied.

They leapt down from the building they had been running on top of, and sprinted through the gateway that once marked the only entry to and from the upper ring. Strangely, even though the wall had been lowered, many guards were still supposed to be on watch… but none were there.

"Toph," Katara said suddenly, "stop!"

"What, what is it? Can't you see I'm in the middle of chasing down and beating up some random guy," Toph said with a scoff, skidding to a stop.

"There are no guards here… somehow, that person knew there would be no guards here, and they're a firebender, whoever they are, I think we have enough information to track him down later. And besides, Aang should be home soon, we have to go and get there before he does so we can make sure the plan is ready," Katara said, placing a placating hand upon Toph's shoulder.

Toph blew the hair out of her face, but let herself be steadily guided back to Katara and Aang's estate. It wasn't a long journey and as they walked Katara plied Toph with questions about Aang's strange behavior, the arena, and the mysterious figure who'd escaped their clutches. They soon arrived at the estate, washed up and checked upon the plan's layout, making sure all was ready. After ensuring that things would be ready in time for Aang's return, they decided to rest in the cool air of the evening, where they sat upon the balcony and overlooked the beautiful city, drinking tea and discussing the day's events.

"Now that the plan's been hashed out, I think we should mull over this whole 'arena' thing," Katara said, "do you have any thoughts?"

"Only one," Toph said, "HUUGH."

With a huge, unhappy groan, Toph thumped her head onto the table, indicating her lack of interest in the subject. Katara, of course, couldn't drop the subject as it had so much to do with her marriage. Toph, on the other hand, simply believed her to be overreacting.

"That's a huge help," Katara said, feeling slightly hurt that her friend wasn't taking this matter more seriously.

"Katara, listen to me," Toph said, batting the table with a fist and making the cutlery and china clatter, "I understand your scared, and I get that your upset, but you need to take it easy, I am almost one hundred percent sure Aang isn't being unfaithful, the guy's had a crush on you than longer than I can remember!"

"I know, he told me about it during the invasion," Katara said, referring to the Day of Black Sun, when they had invaded the Fire Nation and attempted to end the Hundred Year War.

"No, Katara, long before that, heck, probably back before I even joined your group, Aang had cared for you. You have no idea how annoying it was to train him when all he did was look at you, or talk about you. I could tell he had you on his mind whenever his heartbeat got all weak and fluttery… that's when I snuck up," Toph said quietly, tensing like a cheetah-leopard going in for the kill, "and I said…ROCK-LIKE!"

Katara jumped as Toph shouted, causing the earthbender to snort with laughter; but as if Toph's actions had suddenly released all of her tension, Katara found herself laughing with her blind friend.

"You got me there," Katara said, "though I'm pretty sure I've heard that before, back when you started training Aang. I couldn't quite make out what you were saying though."

"Rock-like," Toph explained, "I wanted him to remember that in order to move the rock, he had to become more stubborn than stone. I guess it worked in the end. How is Twinkle-Toes' earthbending coming along? Have you seen him at it?"

"No, but I'm sure he's-"

"Katara," Joo Dee hissed, sticking her head out of the doorway, "the Avatar approaches!"

"Showtime," Toph said, getting up from her chair and beckoning for Katara to follow her inside.

Katara sat in Aang's study as she watched the sun set through the stained glass windows of the estate. Her dress was perfect and the smell of a delicious dinner wafted through the large rooms fairly quickly. The board was ready, the pieces were in place; now all that was needed was for the trap to spring. The door to Aang's study swung open and revealed him, standing there looking thoroughly worn out. He slouched into the study, cast off shirt and walked up behind Katara, wrapping his arms around her waist. Aang planted a soft kiss upon her neck before gently resting his chin upon her shoulder, both of them looking out at the the setting sun.

"I'm home," Aang said quietly, "just like I said I would be."

"I think dinner is almost ready, too," Katara replied, "you should wash up before dinner."

"Yeah, I was working hard today. I actually got called out to investigate because there was a large scale bending skirmish taking place between the middle and upper rings. Oh, and do you remember that cabbage merchant we always used to run into," Aang asked excitedly, a youthful twinkle in his eye.

"The one whose cart always ended up damaged," Katara asked, still staring intently out the window as Aang took a seat at his desk.

"That's the one. Turns out his cart was destroyed, again! I bought half his crop and gave him a few gold pieces for a new cart."

"Don't tell me you dragged half a cart of cabbages home with you," Katara moaned, "I'm not sure I can eat that much."

"No worries, Katara, I distributed the good ones among those who desperately needed the food, and then I gave the rest to the zookeeper outside the walls. His rabbaroos are getting big. All in all though, I'd say it was an eventful day. How was yours, do anything interesting," Aang asked, scribbling nonchalantly upon a piece of paper.

"Not really, I got in a good workout, though. Take a look at these muscles," Katara said, flexing her lean, toned arms at her husband, whose mouth fell open in surprise.

"Geez, you have bigger muscles than me!"

They walked arm in arm through the grand estate granted to them by the officials of Ba Sing Se, whom had taken over ruling while the Earth King traveled his kingdom disguised as a commoner. No one had seen or heard from him, but every now and then there were reports of a man, riding a bear through the rural countryside, which many people found to be an extraordinarily strange occurrence. The delicious smell of food grew even stronger as they found the door to the dining room, and Joo Dee standing dutifully in front of it with her signature grin upon her face.

"Welcome home Avatar," she said happily, "Lady Katara told me you'd be home for dinner, and asked me to assist the chef as much as possible in preparation for your return. Please, come in and have a seat!"

Joo Dee stepped inside and held the door, beckoning for the Avatar and his Lady to enter. Aang smiled and gave a polite nod as he passed, causing Joo Dee to bow low before shutting the door and following them so as to pull out their chairs. As Katara entered, however, she kept a sharp eye out for any signs of Toph's presence. There were no dirty footprints, her hair did not stick up over wherever her hiding place was, and no suspicious sounds could be heard. Truly her patience must have gotten better, as she was virtually undetectable.

'Alright,' Katara thought to herself, 'the stage is set, the candles are lit, the food will be done shortly, and Toph it close at hand…Aang, it's time for some truthfulness, what are you hiding?'

 **Hello all, after some time I've finally decided to simply post what I have on this fic. It's a short chapter and even though there was action I still fell out of it... Not sure why, I just lost interest. Work will do that to you. Anyway, Toph and Katara seem to have a plan all hashed out, and now there is an arena and a firebender involved too! What has Aang been up too, the scoundrel?**


	4. The Truth of the Matter

Katara watched Aang carefully as the large chef trooped out of the kitchen, a few helpers following in his wake to set large platters of food down along the table. From across the large expanse of finely polished wood, Katara peered at Aang through the twisted bronze branches of the obstinate candelabra set in the center of the table. His eyes were focused upon the food, but something must have alerted him to Katara's eyes upon him, for he quickly looked to face her, only to see her watching him from around the candelabra.

"Uh, sweetie, do you wanna come and sit by me? It feels kinda lonely way down here, all by myself," Aang called, leaning far to the side so that he could view his wife without obstruction.

He smiled at her with a look that took Katara back to when they first met and her brother, Sokka, had accused Aang of being a Fire Nation spy. With a chuckle, Katara stood and wove her way through the chefs, making her way to the seat on Aang's left, where she pulled her seat right up next to his.

"There, not it's not so lonely at the end of this enormous table, is it," Katara asked, leaning against Aang as best she could while still being seated in her own chair.

"Nope, all better now," Aang said, completely ignoring the chef and his compatriots.

The large man in the large, billowing white apron stood like a soldier next to the table and cleared his throat before speaking in a loud voice.

"Avatar Aang, your dinner is served!"

"Wah- oh, thanks Gonju," Aang said, tearing his attention from Katara to thank the cook for his excellent work.

The Avatar had always been a tough man to cater too, as he did not partake of the flesh and was devout in his physical training and fitness. He entrusted his carefully planned, well balanced diet to Gonju, the large, angry looking man in the apron with a large mustache and a bandana. He looked more like a prison butch than a cook, but his culinary genius made him one of the best chefs in the Earth Kingdom.

"I was told tonight was a special night, so there's no meat in any of the dishes, and it's all very light and lean to help you keep in shape. If there's nothing else, I'll be off to clean up my kitchen," Gonju grunted before turning and leaving through the door that lead down into the kitchens.

Joo Dee stood off to the side and was silent and still, rather like a statue, as the Avatar and his bride dished themselves food and made small talk about idle topics. Her buzzing, worrisome thoughts were interrupted by a voice that made her jump.

"Joo Dee, are you hungry," Aang asked, "there's plenty to go around! And there's no way we can eat all of this!"

"No, thank you, Avatar," Joo Dee replied, looking rather afraid as she stiffened, once more becoming lifeless and stationary.

Aang, thinking nothing of Joo Dee's peculiar attitude, once more turned his attentions to his food, as he had worked hard all day, but Katara too became solemn as she watched Aang tear through a plate of tofu.

'Do I really want to know if he's been unfaithful,' Katara wondered, feeling tears in her eyes as she stared, 'am I ready to hear the worst of it?'

But the longer she gazed at Aang, her husband, the man she loved, the less she saw him and the more she saw the boy she pulled from the iceberg. He was still there, beneath the veneer of toned muscle and male testosterone; she could see him in the twinkle of Aang's eye, and the way his lips always seemed to curl at the corners with a mischievous grin. Even his voice, which had once been so young and carefree, still retained a hint of its youthful origin. He was, at heart, still the same boy she had pulled from the iceberg, and some part of Katara knew that he would never do anything to hurt her… and yet he was willing to keep secrets from her. She _had_ to know the truth.

"Uh, Aang, can I ask you a question," Katara said, fiddling with her hair, which was done in Earth Kingdom fashion, with a long, singular braid slung over her shoulder.

Joo Dee took notice of the way Katara messed with the braid, as it was the agreed upon signal, and she leaned against the wall, tapping it with her fingernail as discreetly at she could. No noise was heard, but upon the other side of the wall, Toph felt the taps as the vibrations worked through the stone wall, up her arm and reverberated in her head.

She took a breath, and she gently stomped one of her bare feet and pressed both hands up against the wall, as if she were trying to push it over. Suddenly, her hearing increased exponentially, and she could sense everything in the room opposite of her hideaway, where the Avatar and his wife were enjoying their dinner.

"Yeah, of course Katara," Aang said thickly through a large mouthful before he swallowed it down and thumped his chest.

"Well, Aang, I just wanted to ask-"

Aang felt his heart throb painfully as Katara began her question. Did she know about the discrepancies in his schedule, did she realize what was going on? How would she react?

"are you seeing other people Aang? You don't need to hide it if you are, I've noticed how strange-"

The question caught the Avatar off guard, and before he could stifle it, he let out a loud guffaw of laughter before he slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Katara, are you serious," Aang stammered, looking at his wife with wide, unbelieving eyes, "do you seriously think I'd ever be interested in other women? Sweetie, you're my forever girl!"

"He's telling the truth," a voice said as a section of the wall slid open to reveal Toph.

"Toph!? When did you get here? I thought you weren't going to be in Ba Sing Se for a while," Aang exclaimed, standing to give his old friend and earthbending teacher a hug.

"It's good to see you, Twinkletoes," Toph said, giving Aang a gruff hug and a slugging him in the gut when they broke apart.

The blow made Aang double over, gasping for breath as Toph went and took a seat in Aang's spot, carefully feeling around for food that would sate her appetite.

"So, Aang, you were telling the truth about Katara being the only woman for you, so how about you explain your strange behavior," Toph prompted as Aang's disbelieving gaze flickered between Katara and herself.

"Strange behavior," Aang said quietly, "what do you mean, Toph… and why does this feel like an interrogation instead of a nice, peaceful dinner with my wife and a spontaneous visit from you?"

Both were silent, and while Toph had never looked anyone in the eye due to her blindness, Katara was suddenly interested in in the cloth napkins by her seat, while Aang did his best to maintain the look of dissatisfaction he aimed at the waterbender.

"Aang, I've just been worried. I asked Toph to help me figure out what you've been up too. I can understand if you're upset, but please understand, if there's an issue, I want to make it better," Katara said quietly, still not looking at her husband as he crossed his arms and rubbed a hand over his face.

All the while, Toph worked on eating the second plate of food Aang had barely touched so that he could talk to his wife, and she frowned as she realized there was no meat, which was an integral part of her diet.

"Things are great between us," Aang said suddenly, holding his fingers to his temple, "I honestly think this is the best I've felt in a long time, Katara! My role as the Avatar is balanced quite well with my home life and I've managed to find hobbies to entertain me in my free time. I haven't felt this complacent since right after we defeated Ozai!"

Aang wasn't yelling, even though his voice was raised. He seemed desperate to explain himself to Katara, who looked at him through shrewd, suspicious eyes.

"Give it up, Sugar Queen," Toph said through a mouthful of chewy tofu that tasted a bit too bland for her liking, "Aang isn't cheating, that's been established already… no, I think he's been up to something else. Why did you run from us today when we saw you at the arena Aang?"

"You-but-how did you know it was me," Aang asked, staring at Toph as she delicately dabbed at her mouth with a napkin.

"Please, I can feel the shape of your body through the earth, Twinkletoes. At first I wasn't one hundred percent sure, but sensing you now, I am."

"Wait, that was Aang we chased from the warehouse," Katara asked loudly, staring at Toph as well.

"Yep," Toph said, pushing away the plate of tofu and looking completely at ease in the intense atmosphere, "and I bet Aang will explain why he was there if you ask him…bearing in mind that I can sense if he's lying."

"Well, seeing as you guys are making such a big deal out of this, I suppose it's time I come clean," Aang said, taking a seat at the table next the Katara and tilting his head back so that he stared at the ceiling.

"After Ozai was thrown in jail, we worked to restore peace. But honestly, I'd never felt less at peace than I had during the aftermath. People treated me like I'd done all this incredible stuff, they respected me, feared me… It felt so unreal that I couldn't stand it. Bending was my only escape, and I couldn't really bend all the time, so I tried to just practice. It helped, but barely. Every day I woke up early, and I trained harder and harder until I ended up destroying our garden with earthbending."

"I remember that," Katara said quickly, "but Aang, I would've sparred with you!"

"I didn't want to bother you," Aang muttered, "you were so enveloped with your daily explorations of the city and fulfilling the role of my wife that I didn't feel right coming to you for help. I didn't know where to go or what to do with myself, and so, under the cover of the night, I managed to enter into all kinds of underground bending competitions. I had to wear a disguise and I always came back the next day extremely exhausted, and covered in bruises."

"So I suppose that's why you suddenly stopped wearing sleeveless robes, even when it was hot," Katara thought aloud, placing another piece of the puzzle.

"Yup, but then I realized that I couldn't keep it up forever, and so I actually decided to shed my disguises, and I called out any benders who wanted to take me on. It turns out there's a criminal underbelly in this city the likes of which you guys can't even fathom. Anyway, I set up matches with them and I used a bunch of gold to set up an arena. Word spread, and soon it was known all over the lower rings that Avatar Aang was willing to pay any bender who could best him in a bending match, provided they followed the rules."

"Wait, you paid people to beat you up," Toph asked, picking her nose and raising an eyebrow.

"I haven't paid anyone anything because I haven't lost yet," Aang said, a strange fire in his eyes as he turned to survey his wife's unreadable expression, "and it's not just for thrills, I think… I think I've really started something, you guys."

"Started something," Katara asked with a frown.

"I've begun holding tournaments, teams of benders face each other and fight their way through a bracket of other teams, and when they win the championship they get to try their hand at beating the Avatar. I know for a fact that there are teams made up entirely of criminals who have given up lives of crime for a chance at the grand prize. And it's not just that, crime rates have dropped exponentially, throughout all of Ba Sing Se, according to the meetings I've been attending with the cities leaders."

"It sounds to me like you've resurrected the Earth Rumble, except sort of different," Toph said thoughtfully.

"Kind of, I guess, but this time around it's not about money, there's a serious movement surrounding this tournament. And in all honesty, I haven't felt this peaceful and contented in years. It's like I can feel pride emanating from my past lives! Think, Katara," Aang said suddenly, taking Katara's hand in his and staring into her eyes, "think back to about two years ago. Do you remember how unhappy I was? How I seemed so restless and uneasy?"

Katara didn't need to think hard on it: she remembered those times with sadness as she stared into her husband's deep gray eyes.

Things had finally progressed to the point where Aang's position was less about physically repairing the damage wrought by the Fire Nation, and more about reestablishing balance throughout the world. Every day he woke late, refused to eat the breakfast that Katara had prepared for him and set off for a meeting in the palace, where he would remain in council for hours, leaving Katara to pace around the estate by herself. He would return shortly after dusk, looking especially rundown, and escorted by an assistant that heaved around countless sheaves of parchment and papers for Aang's perusal. Again, he would refuse a hot meal and shut himself in his study, squaring away the paperwork well into the wee hours of the morning. Katara would awaken in the middle of the night and pass by his study, only to find his candles had burnt out and the Avatar had fallen asleep at his desk. Ever the loving wife, Katara would cover Aang with a blanket before whisking away plates of uneaten food brought to Aang by his servants and once more taking her place in a bed made for two, where she would lay awake and try not to think about how the cycle would repeat itself the following day.

The difference between the Aang in front of her now and the man from back then was astounding. Two years ago, Aang wouldn't be sitting down with her to dinner, staring into her eyes with a semi-guilty trickster's grin on his face. No, two years ago he would've looked up at her tiredly from his desk, his hand stiff and sore from writing for hours and a dull, lifeless look in his eyes.

Katara's expression must've told Aang all he needed to know, because he smiled even wider.

"Still think I'm cheating," he asked casually, leaning in for a kiss.

"No," Katara said, pecking her husband upon the lips, "I believe Toph. And don't think you're out of the doghouse! I'm still upset about you lying to me."

The waterbender pouted and stifled a smile as she huffed and turned away from Aang. Not convinced of Katara's ire, Aang stood and placed himself behind his wife's chair before leaning down and giving her a small kiss on the neck.

"I'll do _anything_ to get out of the doghouse," Aang breathed as Katara's face flushed with color.

A quick glance around and Aang knew why his wife was embarrassed; it seemed that his seductive whisper had been heard by everyone, from Toph and Joo Dee, both of whom blushed bright shades of magenta, to the cook, who was peaking through the doorway to the kitchens, dabbing sweat from his forehead as he waited for a less intimate moment to enter.

The Avatar chuckled and took the seat by his wife, his hand in hers as he nodded to the chef, who promptly marched in followed by his apprentices. They cleared away dinner and set down several desserts, including fancy jellos, a variety of homemade custards, and a large, sumptuous chocolate cake that made the table groan as it was set down. As soon as the culinary genius that was Gonju and his associates left, Toph stood and slowly but surely made her way to where Katara and Aang sat together at the long oaken dining table. Once there, she paused, leaving Aang to ponder what she was doing before-

"OW!"

"That's for making me uncomfortable," Toph said, turning around and marching back to her seat while Aang massaged the top of his head, which was now incredibly sore from Toph's attack.

Without so much as a single apology, Toph sat back down and smacked the table. Aang, fearing another unprovoked assault, was suddenly missing from his chair by Katara's side. He peered over the edge of the table at the blind Earthbender before once more taking up residence of the chair.

"I just dropped-uh-"

"Your dignity," Toph asked, grabbing a knife and pulling the cake closer to her as Aang once more took a dive, having only seen Toph reach for the knife.

"Just dropped it again," he said lamely, resuming his seat for the second time.

Silence fell over the dining room, leaving Aang to feel rather tense as his wife and his former earthbending master ate dessert. Sure, he was upset that Katara thought he might have been unfaithful, but with how secretive he'd been he honestly couldn't find fault with her, Katara was remarkably clever after all; it was only a matter of time before she figured out something was wrong. But now what? She hadn't made any comments about it, did she disapprove? It wasn't as if he'd lied about his story, crime truly was down, by quite a bit in fact. He hadn't paid out any money, the arena was built on the gold in the winners' pot, and he truly felt like he was doing something right, he had to have been. After all, Aang was a very morally driven person, both because of his nomadic heritage and his duty as the Avatar. If he had felt he was truly doing something wrong, he wouldn't be able to deal with it, and the guilt would likely keep him awake at night.

That said, nowadays he went to bed shortly after Katara, and he slept straight through till the dawn, when he would wake up and smile as he watched his beautiful wife slumber. He had no more doubts as to whether or not he was doing the right thing, but something told him Katara may have still needed some convincing.

"Hey, so-um- Katara, after dinner, let's all go for a walk! I want to show you guys the arena. Maybe it'll help if you both actually see it functioning and helping to bring people together," Aang suggested, dishing himself a small sliver of cake.

"I don't know Aang," Katara said, "with all the bending going on in there, are you sure it'll be safe?"

"Yeah, one of the rules is that bending has to be limited so that it doesn't fire off into the crowd and injure any spectators or competitors," Aang said quickly, looking rather excited at the notion of explaining the sport, "and there are penalties and zones and all kind of rules about secondary bending skills and tricky moves that could result in serious injury. It's a contact sport, but safety is the prime concern! Seriously, you guys should see it-uh-sorry Toph."

"It's fine," she said, scooting out her chair and reclining so as to rub her swollen belly, "besides, I planned on coming along anyway. I figure I could beat all of those teams and you, I could use the gold."

"I don't know Toph, out on the road you may have me beat, but in the arena, you'd probably end up losing because you don't know all the rules," Aang said thoughtfully, though his tone was slightly condescending.

"Rules are for dorks," Toph said, "I'd smash you all into a zillion tiny pieces, and then I'd take your gold anyway cause you're a loser!"

"This coming from the short, blind metalbender with a god complex and chocolate smeared on her face? Don't make me laugh," Aang scoffed, earning him a face full of jello from a spiteful Toph.

"Guys," Katara squeaked, "now is not the time for a food fight, look, Gonju is giving you both his best death glare!"

And so he was, the stout, mustached man was scowling furiously at Aang as the Avatar held the entire chocolate cake over his head, ready to bring it down on Toph. The short metalbender turned, glared and bared her teeth in a violent grimace, causing Gonju to pale before he turned and fled back down the stairs to the kitchen. Toph smiled triumphantly before she turned to face Aang, who slowly set down the cake.

"Geez, I thought you were scary before," Aang sighed as he poured tea for his wife and his former master, "five years have passed since we ended the war, what do you have to do in that time to perfect a look that can scare off my chef, who was once a convicted felon?"

"Aang, I'm a teacher," Toph said in a sickly sweet voice, "with a single syllable I can inspire hope in the hopeless or I can deter the most narrow-minded blockhead. Maybe you missed the memo, but metalbending is a very difficult skill to master, molding a human is actually easy in comparison."

After their tea, they all changed and gathered their going-out garments: Aang with his fancy silk shawl, a gift from the Fire Lord, Katara with a light coat, modeled in the style of the water tribe, and Toph, surprisingly, latched on her old Earth Rumble Champion belt, which it seemed she had brought with her.

"They might as well know who they're dealing with," Toph muttered before following Katara out the door. Aang smiled and shook his head, taking up the rear and closing the door to his estate with a snap before trailing after Katara and Toph.

 **Ladies and gents, this fic ain't dead. Not quite yet, anyway. So I wrote this a while ago, and completely neglected to post it after editing because I was crazy busy with other projects (PJ and the LOK) and then I actually took to watching Bleach. Yes,** ** _that_** **Bleach. Little did I realize until just now, the surly, mustached chef in this fic shares a name with Gonju from Bleach. And a similar character design for how I imagined him, too. Buff, yet slightly potbellied from all his cooking. Slap a mustache on Bleach's Gonju and BAM, you kinda see where I was going. But moving on, here we also find out exactly what Aang has been up to, and I'm sure I know what you're thinkin... 'That's it? Aang was just probending?' No, silly readers, he was INVENTING THE SPORT! THIS IS MY HEADCANON AND YOU WILL NOT TAKE IT FROM ME! Nah, but I had this vague idea for a fic where Aang invents probending, and this is the offspring of that thought. I know, you guys wanted drama, or perhaps filthy, degenerate smexys. Nope, innocence and childlike naivety, because Avatar is my childhood and I think I may have a slight obsessive problem with it you gais.**


	5. A Warrior's Spirit

"Alright now, Katara, Toph, when we get to the Arena, I need you both to promise that you'll keep cool and collected… no matter what happens," Aang said seriously, taking the lead as the trio wound their way down through the upper rings, headed for the great openings in the walls.

"I can't guarantee I won't beat you and take the championship title for myself," Toph said, cracking her knuckles and stretching her back.

"I mean it," Aang said, turning to look at the two women as he nervously plucked at the edges of his shawl, "no matter what, don't go crazy, ok?"

"Ok," Katara said, wondering why Aang was nervously glancing at her.

"Whatever," Toph scoffed, absentmindedly polishing her Earth Rumble Championship belt, which still looked as flawless and shiny as ever.

"Alright, c'mon, let's get moving… tonight's bracket it gonna be pretty awesome, considering who's competing," Aang said excitedly, picking up the pace as they passed into the middle ring, where the craftsman, merchants and others of the working class spent their days, peddling wares and services.

They walked in silence as the chill night air whipped through the streets of Ba Sing Se, tugging at their limbs and making Toph, who was only dressed in her traveling clothes and her heavy metal belt, shiver and shake as she walked. Katara, seeing Toph's chill, took off her jacket and placed it around Toph's shoulders. The small, blind earthbender smiled in gratitude, and Katara couldn't help but feel happy. Toph wasn't one to smile often, not genuinely, anyway, and Katara hadn't seen her smile that way in some time.

"Ok," Aang said, pulling up the collar of his shawl and ducking his head as they made their way into the lower ring, which was eerily still and silent, "we're nearly there. I'm gonna make a few stops. You guys know where to go?"

"Yeah, but Aang, where are you-"

Before Katara could finish, Aang had jumped away, clear over the rooftop, his shawl fluttering in the moonlight as he went.

"Wonder what that was about," Toph muttered.

Together, Katara and Toph made their way to the warehouse arena. It was filled with sounds of ruckus and merriment as they approached, along with the unmistakable sounds of bending. There was the loud roar of fire consuming oxygen, and there were the uncanny crystalline crashes of earth being destroyed. Water, too, was utilized, the sound of it swishing to and fro under the control of a bender quite familiar to Katara's ears.

"Should we go in," Katara asked, eyeing up the door as she spoke to Toph.

"Might as well," Toph said, "Twinkletoes still hasn't shown up. I can't even feel him right now."

"Alright, we'll go in, stick to the wall and wait for him," Katara said, pulling open the door as light flooded the dark street and the two women slipped inside.

"Hang on a sec," Toph muttered suddenly, her eyes widening as she turned her blind head to and fro.

"What is it, Toph," Katara asked, never having seen the earthbender so angry, like a rabid badgermole sensing its natural enemy.

"Azula," Toph muttered through gritted teeth as the very same woman stepped from the crowd around the ring.

"Me," she said sweetly, crossing her arms and glancing carelessly between Katara and Toph.

"Toph, go find Aang, I'm about to tear Azula to shreds," Katara sneered, uncapping her waterskin and coiling it around her arm like a snake, taking up a wide waterbending stance.

"No way," Toph growled, "she's mine."

The crowd noticed the commotion, and together they turned to watch Azula face down Toph and Katara. Even the competitors in the ring took notice of the sudden shift in energy and came to a halt so as to bear witness.

"Cat fight," someone shouted.

As one, the men of the arena began to hoot, whistle, and bark like otterhounds as they fist pumped and cheered for a fight. Azula, who was dressed in close fitting robes of maroon and gold, with plenty of public midriff to boot, smirked at her former enemies.

"Hey there, peasant," she jeered at Katara, "long time no see… I suggest you strike first, I don't want to be disqualified from my upcoming match, and these men do like a spectacle."

"Oh, I'll show you," Toph snapped, stomping upon the floor and sending a large fissure at Azula.

The fissure wove closer like a bolt of lightning shooting over the floor, threatening to swallow Azula up until an orange and yellow blur appeared before her. With an equally powerful stomp, Aang stopped the gaping crack's progress, and with a clap of his stiff, flat hands, he once more closed the gap, leaving the floor as perfect as if had been moments before.

"Drinks all around," he shouted at the patrons, all of whom cheered and chanted his named.

"Avatar Aang! Avatar Aang! Avatar Aang!"

"What the heck, Twinkletoes," Toph shouted over the cheers, "you do realize who that is, don't you?"

"Of course," Aang smiled, placing a hand upon Azula's shoulder, "Azula here is on loan from the Fire Nation! I told Zuko I needed some fierce benders for a little social experiment, and low and behold, he sent the Lightning Princess!"

"Former Lightning Princess," Azula corrected him, her smile stiff as she pried Aang's hand from her shoulder.

"Aang, don't tell me she's-" Katara asked worriedly, her fears overwhelming her.

"Yep, from the looks of things, she'll be facing me in the championship again! Last year was great, she almost got me!"

"Oh, I'm sure it'll happen, sometime," Azula muttered, grabbing a drink from a passing waiter and downing it all in one.

"Haha yeah, maybe," Aang laughed, clapping Azula on the back before taking Toph and Katara by the hands and leading them up to a stand beside the arena. From this elevated viewpoint, Aang was able to watch the matches in private, and keep track of the brackets.

"It's so smoky," Toph complained, coughing a little.

"Well, we want this to stay a bit of a secret, so all the doors and window stay shut. We can't disturb the people's sleep," Aang explained happily, "though I do wish they'd smoke outside."

"What is Azula doing here," Katara asked, wrenching her hand from Aang's, "why is she… I mean…. Oh my spirits, did she write that note?!"

"Azula is here because Zuko thinks this might help with her… anger issues. After the asylum let her out, she tried therapy, but… well, I think she might've burnt down the therapist's office or something. Oh, and- uh- yeah, she did write that note," Aang said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and grinning.

"Aang, she's obviously trying to kill you," Katara pressed in an undertone, "she's got something else on her mind! Azula always lies."

"Oh, I guess you've been taking a leaf out of Zuko's book," Azula griped, sidling between Katara and Aang and sitting down at the rather withered looking wooden table with a tray of food.

"Well, he's the Firelord for a reason," Katara verbally jabbed.

"Yes, because he betrayed his country and joined the Avatar. If I'd done it first, I'd be Firelord right now, instead of him," Azula sighed, sounding rather sour.

"We'd never let you join the group," Toph stated flatly, "even Zuko almost didn't make the cut… and he was pathetically persistent."

"Oh, I know all about Zuko being pathetic," Azula said, turning to look at Toph, "this one time-"

"Save the stories, Azula, why are you really here," Katara asked angrily, slamming a hand down on the table and shoving her face into the denounced Fire Nation Princess'.

Azula, noting the rather fragile state of Katara's emotions, raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Well, Aang is technically my caretaker, so whenever he comes in, I have to be by his side… usually, it's just the two of us at this table, for hours and hours in this smoky, dingy warehouse. We eat together, spar together… it's quite nice."

"I'm gonna-"

"Katara, no," Toph said, clutching Katara's wrist in a grip of iron, the water she was bending falling to the floor as her movements ceased.

"Smart move, Bei Fong," Azula muttered, "you've gotten better at telling when I'm baiting you."

"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me," Toph said, letting Katara's hand fall.

"She was lying," Katara snarled, wrenching her wrist from Toph's hand.

"Nope," Azula replied evilly, "every word of that was true. Usually, it _is_ just me and Aang up here in the 'VIP section' as he calls it."

"Zuko made me promise that I keep a careful eye on her every move," Aang corroborated, "so whenever I go and get her from the compound, I have to remain in close proximity to her."

"And he walks me back to the compound every night," Azula said, tearing at a piece of turtleduck, "and it's always so romantic and moonlit-"

"And then I hand her over to the guards," Aang cut in, giving Azula a disapproving look, "and she's locked up until the next bout."

"Aang, I can't believe you didn't tell me about any of this," Katara said, looking completely devastated, "how come you didn't-"

"I didn't want you to worry, and I figured it was exactly this sort of Avatar business that'd make you lose your mind. I mean, c'mon, a dumpy warehouse in the lower ring, filled with seedy people and Azula to boot? That's, like, everything you don't approve of rolled into one giant ball of worry and concern for you to take out and anxiously scrutinize whenever your prone to worrying! Which is all the time," Aang added exasperatedly.

"So hiding something like this is gonna make me feel better?"

"Ignorance is bliss," Aang said, his smile gone as he stared Katara in the eye.

"I told him that," Azula chipped in happily, nearly laughing at Katara's scandalized look.

"Hold on… no way," Toph said suddenly, turning to look behind her.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't the greatest earthbender in the world," said a voice.

"You," Toph asked, spinning around and taking up an earthbending stance.

"That's my name," the tall man said.

"I remember you," Aang said, "you taught Earthbending in Toph's hometown!"

"Yes, I am Master Yu," the tall man with the strange facial hair said, "I'll be competing in one of tonight's matches."

"I don't see your name on the roster," Aang said, raising an eyebrow as he glanced up at the Earthbending master, who was now dressed in more traditional earth Kingdom robes.

"I used a stage name," Yu shrugged, "there should be something there about the Golden Master…"

"Oh, yeah… looks like you'll be facing Azula in the next match! Sorry about the mixup," Aang said with a large smile.

"Uh-hang on, _thee_ Azula? From the Fire Nation Royal family?"

"That's right," Azula said thickly through a mouthful of fire flakes.

"Erm… right… well then, I'll see you for the next match," Yu said, sounding shaken as he dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief he'd pulled from within his robes.

"Can't wait," Azula uttered carelessly, waving as she hunched over her platter, which was now almost empty.

Aang, ever the harbinger of peace, grabbed Katara's and Toph's hands once more, and led them over to the table, the three of them taking up the bench across from Azula. Aang sat, smiling peacefully, while Katara and Toph lingered for a moment before gracefully placing themselves upon the bench. As if sensing their hesitation Azula glanced up, her golden eyes flickering between Toph and Katara as she calmly chewed her food.

"I must say, Azula, you seem much more… composed… than you have during our previous meetings," Katara said tactfully.

"Yeah, you were nuttier than elephant-roo poop. What happened to you," Toph asked.

"Well, you guys all remember that terrible Kemurikage incident, Right? Essentially what happened is blah,blah, blah, loss of direction, mumbo jumbo, Avatar Aang to the rescue, free pass out of the Fire Nation," Azula said uninterestedly, waving her hand as she slurped another drink..

"Should you really be boozing up before a match," Toph plied, her nose crinkling with the scent of alcohol.

"Should you really be so boyish, for a short, blind girl?"

"It's gonna take more than a few words to get under my skin," Toph said, masking her anger under a thin layer of patience that she usually reserved for truly helpless students.

"My, my," Azula smiled, her golden eyes finally focusing upon Toph, rather than just glazing over her, "it seems you have grown… to some extent. Certainly not upward, of course."

"Her question stands," Katara said, diving into the conversation after witnessing two titans do verbal battle.

"Well, how do I put this… when I'm stone cold sober, I can plot ten moves ahead of anyone, shoot lightning like it's fire, and I could very easily escape the custody of my guards. I am drinking to pass the time, dull my senses, and give my opponents a better shot at surviving our matches," Azula noted with relish, "not to mention, it gives me this indescribable feeling of peace… like the world and it's problems aren't mine to fix. There's also the fact that the Avatar is forced to make contact with me after I've had a few drinks."

"I've had to carry her out of the arena… and not because she was beaten by her opponent," Aang mumbled darkly.

"A woman has needs," Azula sighed, looking Aang up and down as he devoutly shook his head at his wife.

As one, they turned to watch the match, though Toph couldn't actually watch it. It was an interesting fight, an earthbender versus earthbender slugfest. Earth flew like bullets as the competitors both forced an offensive, much like any stubborn Earth Kingdom citizen would. That said, there was definitely something strange about the way they moved.

"Those guys are all over the place," Toph noted, sipping a dink that came in a cup of ice, "I mean, I can barely keep up with both of their movements from up here. They're sort of… hopping around, and not really digging into the dirt."

"Yeah, that's because over time, the benders who compete in this tournament have sort of developed their own fighting styles," Aang said excitedly, "I've learned a lot from just watching them. The earthbenders have learned to dodge and weave like airbenders, the waterbenders have learned to dig in and get angry like firebenders, and the firebenders have learned to go fluid and wriggle like waterbenders."

"Waterbenders don't wriggle," Katara interrupted, "waterbending is a powerful skill, developed over thousands of years by-"

"Who cares," Azula said, blush tickling her cheeks at Katara's statements, "no one here, doll! In the arena, it comes down to skill, power, and the ability to maintain dominance. Even the slightest hint of weakness, and your enemy will exploit it."

"Spoken like a denounced Fire Nation princess," Katara said scathingly, preparing herself for a reaction from the firebender.

"Nice try, sweetie," Azula laughed, "but therapy has done quite a number on me. I'm strong, confident, and nothing can get me down."

"Oh yeah? How about Zuko, sitting on the Fire Lord's throne," Katara probed, wondering how deep Azula's therapy had gone.

"Over it," Azula scoffed, "I mean, come on, Fire Lord? He's tied down by red tape and policies and laws. Me? I'm in the Earth Kingdom, tearing it up and loving every second of it!"

"Azula, is that any way to talk about your big brother," asked a familiar, raspy voice.

"No way-"

"It can't be-"

"Zuko!"

So it was. Zuko, the Fire Lord and foremost leader of the Fire Nation stepped up onto the VIP stand, his bodyguard turning to stand at the ramp leading to it.

"Zuko, I can't believe you came," Aang said happily, hugging his friend, "how have you been?! It's been so long!"

"I've been…. peachy," Zuko muttered, pulling at his hood to make sure it covered his face, "I hear you've made progress with Azula. I came to check on it firsthand."

"Just like you," Katara smiled, rolling her blue eyes, "can't trust anyone's word but your own."

"I've been through a lot, and I'm using my own personal experience to make decisions for the good of my people, is that so hard to understand," Zuko asked tiredly.

"I'm just messing with you… it's good to see you, Zuko," Katara said with a laugh, hugging Zuko as well.

"Yeah, I've missed you too, Zuko, come here so I can show you some affection," Toph said, rolling back her sleeves.

As was customary ever since Zuko had mistakenly burnt Toph's feet, he rolled back his own sleeve to reveal a muscled arm and he held it out for Toph to strike. With a look of pain, he avoided any unmanly noises when she struck, leaving Toph to smile sweetly, even though she'd just destroyed his arm.

"Wow, you feel pretty buff, Zuko," Toph admitted.

"Vigorous body training every day keeps the mind focused and sharp," Zuko said with a smile, rubbing the charlie horse to get the blood moving.

"So, Iroh still swilling tea," Aang asked.

"Yeah, he's here in the Earth Kingdom… I'm surprised he hasn't come to call, yet," Zuko answered, "and he's been completely amazing. I write him so often that it's become a daily occurrence. Uncle has the answers to everything!"

"Be grateful," Katara warned the Fire Lord, "you never know when Iroh will be moving onto… bigger and better things."

Perhaps Zuko understood Katara's words, or perhaps he really had grown from his moody youth, but he bowed his head and pushed his hand into his palm, smiling as he did so.

"You're right, of course… Uncle has been speaking of leaving for some time… I need to appreciate him while he's here," Zuko replied in summation.

"Brother Zuzu," Azula said happily, throwing herself upon her brother and giving him a hug, surprise etched into his being as he held incredibly still, like a gazelle-deer being hugged by a saber toothed moose lion.

"You seem awfully happy," Zuko said, gently but firmly setting his sister back into her seat.

"Of course! I'm glad you get to see this match, I'll be heading into the semifinals," Azula said, smiling at the Fire Lord.

"About that… Aang, when you called this a social experiment-"

"I know, I left out the seedy element and the fighting, but really Zuko, this is important! Crime statistics show lower crime rates, wealth is being redistributed amongst the winners of the matches, and there seems to be a coming together of all three nations the likes of which I couldn't have foreseen," Aang interrupted, looking Zuko in the eye to show how serious he was.

"A coming together of violence," Zuko said darkly.

"I don't believe that," Aang said firmly, "probending is a new way for people to show off their bending skills in a safe environment! Even Katara has noted how constricted she feels when she hasn't done any bending for a while. It's four times worse for me, being the Avatar and all, so this is a great opportunity to relieve stress and strut your stuff! Tell you what, Zuko, what say you and I go a few rounds in the ring after the fighters finish these last few matches? This place clears out fast after the dust settles; I can give you guys a firsthand perspective of probending."

With a loud, overwhelming roar, the crowd made its approval of the victorious party heard. With a sigh, Azula downed her drink, wiped her lips upon the back of her hand and thumped her chest.

"That's my cue," she said, clapping her brother on the shoulder.

Zuko tensed, expecting to feel his sister's razor sharp talons pierce his shoulder, as they often had when they were younger. But no… he only felt a slight sting as she misjudged the power of her movements.

"Good luck," the Firelord found himself muttering as he turned to watch his sister's progress towards the arena.

"I think she's up to something," Katara muttered to Zuko, unheard by everyone else, who were busy applauding the matches conclusion and the start of the next one.

"I don't know about that," Zuko answered just as quietly, "but I'll keep my eye on her."

Earthbenders took to the arena to clear the debris and rubble, making it as perfect, unmarked and smooth as it had been before the previous round. Meanwhile, Azula sat in a stool upon on side of the arena. Unlike most competitors, she readied herself for the match, calmly binding her hands in white tape, not looking worried in the slightest. Meanwhile, Yu and someone else, likely a coach or co-conspirator, talked in hushed tones as they prepared Yu for the next fight.

"Aang, is my sister… drunk?"

"Yup," Aang said happily, scribbling the name of the winner upon his Roster.

"Why?"

"It helps her give the opponents a fighting chance," Aang explained as the group watched Azula and Yu step onto the raised arena, cracking their knuckles as the referee announced the match.

"Up next, our reigning runner-up champion: Azula! The Azure Flame!"

From the crowd came a flurry of excitement, as they loved to watch the princess fight. She raised a hand and took a bow, waiting for a hush to fall upon the crowd once more.

"And her opponent, a newcomer to the arena, and a completely unforeseen upset… the Golden Master!"

A few people actually booed Yu as he took a traditional Earth King stance and politely bowed, first to the crowd and then to Azula, who scoffed. Yu's eyebrow twitched as he withdrew from the center of the ring and took up a strong, steady stance upon one side. Azula mocked Yu's bowing, mimicking his pompous stiffness with a smirk before turning to face him in a matching Earthbending stance.

"Uh-oh," Zuko remarked, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, "she smells it."

"Smells what," Katara asked, taking a deep whiff of the smelly, overcrowded warehouse.

"Fear," Toph laughed, pointing at Yu, who was visibly shaking in his fine, gold-stitched clothes.

The bell rang, and with a vicious grin, Azula bum rushed Yu, as if she were pouncing upon her prey. He sidestepped and countered with a stomp. The Earth formed a pillar that was about to strike Azula on the side, where her skin was exposed, but she punched at the pillar, shattering it and sending a blue shockwave of fire through the warehouse. Yu was pushed backwards, his feet barely staying upon the arena's floor, and his clothes and hair were singed. Azula shrugged, looking apologetic before she swung her leg around in a downward slash, finishing off with two strong punches.

Yu, adopting a different stance, immediately began to try and dodge around the fire blasts, but he misjudged their size and ended up having to drop to the floor, watching with terror as the fire passed inches from his face.

"Finish him off!"

"Prey for the Azure Flame!"

"Stop playing with your food!"

Thus rang out the cries of the men and woman around the ring. Azula slowly and deliberately walked around Yu, who slowly pushed himself up. His clothes were smoking pretty badly now, and he seemed weak, but he managed to stand and face Azula. Faster than he could register, Azula whipped her hand back and flung it forward, stopping less than an inch from Yu's face, his eyes crossed as he watched Azula's knuckles twitch.

With her other hand, the Azure Flame held out a thumb, showing it to the crowd as they cried out for blood. With dread, Yu watched as she gave the thumbs down sign and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. He closed his eyes, waiting for fire and pain. Instead, he suddenly found himself without support, and Yu, the Golden Master, tumbled from the ring, Azula having let him fall off the edge he'd been precariously perched upon.

"Our winner is the Azure Flame," the referee cried, throwing his hat into the air as Azula moved onto the Championship tourney.

"Wait, why didn't she ruin that guy," Zuko asked, "Azula loved the power she got from dominating and manipulating other people… why wouldn't she leave a scar on the guy."

"I told you, Zuko," Aang hollered over the crowd as he applauded Azula with the rest of the crowd, "she's changed!"

"Don't get too excited Zuzu," Azula said, plunking down at their table once more after having emerged from the crowd, "who ever said a scar needs to be physical?"

"I guess it doesn't," Zuko said, wondering if there was a point to any of Azula's drunken rantings.

"You're right, and that Golden Master guy… he's going to be pretty scarred up. Not physically, mind you, but mentally… he won't be able to look me in the eye for some time."

"I think you're lying," Toph said suddenly, her blank, unseeing eyes snapping to Azula, her brow furrowing.

"What are you implying, short stuff," Azula said, slopping more alcohol as she poured another drink.

"For a moment, your façade slipped… you were lying when you implied you wanted to scar the Golden Guy… I think you just love winning, and I think you love bending, and I think you're grateful that Aang decided not to take your bending like he did to Ozai!"

"While I am grateful to the Avatar for his mercy, I am still the most fierce combatant this Arena has ever seen," Azula muttered, her voice dangerously quiet, "and that's while I'm under the influence."

"I know. And I think you're making great strides, but from now on, I don't want you drinking before matches," Zuko said, staring his sister in the eye as she glared back, "I couldn't live with myself if you ended up getting hurt because you were too drunk to fight properly. You hear that, Aang? No more booze for the Azure Flame!"

"Sure thing, hotman," Aang replied, still as happy as ever as he made note of Azula's victory on the roster.

As the Avatar had predicted, the warehouse quickly emptied of people, leaving only a single lonely sweeper, Azula, Zuko, his bodyguard, Toph, Katara and Aang.

"You see, Aang, all people want are violence," Zuko said, gesturing at the empty arena, "they want to see benders of different nationalities beating the daylights out of each other."

"Sorry Zuko, but I'm putting my foot down on this," Aang said, "even if it isn't perfect now, this has a lot of potential! This could be the next big thing!"

Without hesitation, Aang leapt from his seat at the wooden table, flipping clear over it and landing temporarily on the railing before flipping once more and coming to a halt by the sweeper, who continued his slow task without even glancing up.

"Hey sir, what's your name," Aang asked.

"Hijoru," the old man muttered, still not looking up.

"It's nice to meet you… anyway, I had a question. Do you like watching the bending matches that we host?"

"I did at one point, not too much anymore, though. It's gotten a little stale," the janitorial worker admitted.

"How so," Aang asked.

"Well, after you've seen every different type of bender fight every other type of bender, there really isn't much more to see… maybe it'd be different if it was a team sport… get a bigger arena, teams of three, one player for each element... yeah, then it might be worth watching."

"Wow… that's actually a great idea," Aang said, glancing behind him and noticing how Zuko and the rest of the group was approaching, "I only have one more question, if you don't mind… Hijoru, was it?"

"Shoot," the old man replied, eager to finish his conversation and continue his work.

"What is it that you like most about these matches? Is it the blood and the gut wrenching violence… or it is something else," Aang queried, still acutely aware of Zuko's presence behind him.

"The violence… well, that's one way of putting it," the old man said thoughtfully, scratching at his chin, "I think of it more as a contest of spirit… a way to show the world who you are and what you're made of. Plus, it's easy to get lost in thought when you watch two benders go head to head. Take for instance, a firebender and a waterbender… they're both so different, you'd think they came from different worlds entirely. But no, in the end, they both enter the ring, bow to each other, and give it their all."

"I don't think I could've put it better myself," Aang said, smirking at Zuko for a moment, "now, about that idea of yours. How would you like to help me run this place?"

Aang's offer seemed to genuinely catch the janitor's attention. He stopped, looking at Aang with a raised eyebrow.

"Run this place," Hijoru asked quizzically, "what do you mean by that?"

"Help me schedule new contestants… obviously, we can't start the team matches this year, but next year I could probably rustle up a new place for these bending battles to take place. Of course, you'd be in charge of most everything, but it'd be a much better wage than whatever you're getting now."

Hijoru was stunned by the Avatar's kindness, and with a smile, he nodded. They exchanged information and a few more ideas before Hijoru once more took up his broom. Now, however, he swept with renewed vigor, and his eyes seemed far away as he contemplated how his life was about to change.

"That was really nice of you, Aang," Zuko noted, "and I think you made your point… I'll let Azula continue this if she wants… just, no more drinking."

"Got it," Aang said, turning and walking until he was on one side of the Arena, and everyone else was on the other.

"Now then, which of you wants it first," Aang jeered, stripping off his shawl and shirt and tossing them out of the ring.

With a smile, Aang raised his fists, his muscles bulging as he faced down three of his elemental teachers and Azula. It was strangely familiar, as they had often sparred with each other before Ozai's defeat. Afterword, they hadn't really had the time for it… That was in the past though. Katara, Zuko and Toph all glanced at each other and Azula cracked her knuckles menacingly.

Two sides charged, one with two firebenders, the greatest earthbender in the world, a master waterbender, and the other with only the Avatar, who grinned at the thought of having so many of his closest friends with him in the Arena.

Over the next year, Aang kept his word. He personally commissioned the probending Arena be built into Republic City, and much to his surprise, the denizens of the United Republic of Nations took to it like platypus-bears to honey. Hijoru, once a lowly street sweeper, became a multifaceted businessman and a steadfast ally of the Avatar. Katara watched as her husband not only grew physically with each passing day, but mentally as well. He was happy and excited whenever probending was mentioned, as it helped to soothe the restless Avatar Spirit within him; the side of him that needed to bend, and compete and defend the world. He met new people, saw the world from all sides and eventually grew into a fine Avatar. After the establishment of the team probending sport, Aang was, sadly, forced to resign as an actual competitor and act more as an honored viewer at the matches, due to the fact that no bending team could actually beat him. Azula, too, resigned shortly after Aang, returning to the Fire Nation to make her case to the Fire Lord, and soon she was officially rehabilitated, and allowed to act as a counselor to her brother.

"The Avatar is a bridge between worlds, a peacekeeper, and an impartial judge to all nations," Aang had said to Katara after facing down against her, Zuko, Toph and Azula, "but the Avatar is also a warrior during wartimes… this probending thing is gonna help me adjust to the peace."

"I suppose it just goes to show you can never tame a warrior's spirit," Katara laughed, raising a glass of wine and toasting with Aang before they drank deeply and partook of the great meal before them.

 **And so ends another of my fics. I must say, this didn't turn out quite like I'd envisioned, but I suppose it was alright. Not great, but the more I wrote, the farther I felt I got from my original idea, which was essentially that the Avatar invented probending to soothe and ease the Avatar Spirit, which was not usually accustomed to peace. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the fic!**


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